She Wrote it on a Red Notebook
by skwirelygurli
Summary: Austin and Ally must keep it secret that they are dating. Sequel to He Wrote it on a Napkin. Auslly.
1. Chapter 1

**She Wrote it on a Red Notebook (Part 1/5), an Austin & Ally fiction**

**I do not own Austin & Ally. This is the sequel to He Wrote it on a Napkin. As usual, remember to review and request! **

She massages the roots of her hair with her fingertips. The shower pours down on her as she sings his song to herself. The sound echoes off the shower walls.

It's a good thing her dad is already at the Sonic Boom. Even if she can't see him, her stage fright would kick in.

She opens her eyes. A shampoo sud sneaks down the side of her face. She closes them again.

Nope, she's alone. Nobody else is in this bathroom. She hadn't seen any shadows, or strangers lurking in the shower with her.

Trust her, there would be much screaming involved if that were the case.

And no, it's not because of her stage fright.

"So come now learn the words and sing along," she sings, turning the water off. She rubs the top of her head. There's no suds left, so she sticks her arm out for her towel.

She wraps it around her body. It's a large and fluffy towel. One that encases her like a little cocoon.

Which she finds is a very good thing, because when she walks into her room, Austin is perched on the edge of her bed.

"Oh God! Cover your eyes!" she yells, running into the closet.

"I texted you four times and you didn't answer. I was starting to worry." He peeks through the cracks of his fingers. Nothing.

She bumps into her shoe rack.

"I was in the shower. Now could you turn the light on for me?" Shaving and shampooing was no quick job.

He flicks the switch on. "How about I meet you in the kitchen?"

She nods, then realizes he can't see her.

"I think that'd be a good idea."

_(the page breaks here)_

When she enters the kitchen, brushing her hair, he has the decency to blush.

"I am so sorry Ally." He stands up to follow her to the cupboard.

"It's fine. You scared me, that's all." She's just glad it wasn't one of those days when she forgot her towel. It's only happened twice. The first time her mom had been then to get her one.

The second time, she had to resort to covering her body with two hand towels, screaming 'Don't look! Don't Look!' to the empty house.

She takes out a box of Raisin Bran and a bowl for herself. "Did you eat yet?"

"I was too worried about you to grab anything." He takes the bowl from her as she grabs a second one.

They each pour a bowl. She covers her with milk and offers him the carton.

He sets it aside, plucking the raisins from his bowl.

"They call it Raisin Bran for a reason."

"I don't like soggy raisins."

She grins at him, and he decides to kiss her.

Because he can.

She notices that he tastes like mint. She's glad, because she thought he'd taste like morning breath.

Oh no. She has morning breath. She pulls away.

"So, um, would you like some juice?"

"I'll get it. Your raisins are getting soggy."

She really needs to find a new breakfast cereal.

_(the page breaks here)_

He helps her dry her hair. His hands tickle as they pass through the strands. He resists her pleas to use the hairbrush.

He has been waiting far too long for this moment. It's silky smooth, and he's found a spot behind her left ear that makes her giggle when he touches it.

"There's this stubborn spot that doesn't seem to want to dry," he remarks, tracing the arc over and over again.

"Really?" she asks through a fit of giggles.

"Mhm." He blows it dry for another minute until the tip of her ear turns pink.

She watches as he curls the cord up. "You're done?"

He tucks the plug in to keep the cord bundled together.

"All done. Now let's get going before they start to wonder where we are."

"But I didn't curl my hair yet."

"Trying to impress someone?" He makes sure to say it above that ticklish left ear of hers.

She runs her hairbrush through her locks. "Maybe."

He takes the brush from her and finishes the job.

"For the record, he thinks you look perfect, just the way you are."

Ally goes natural today.

_(the page breaks here)_

When they arrive at the Sonic Boom, they find that Trish and Dez are absent.

They spend the morning not doing anything terribly coupley, just in case they show up. It's a wasted effort, because they don't show up until later that afternoon.

To think, they could have done something besides play Candyland.

That's not to say that he didn't have fun.

"Where have you guys been all day?" he asks when they step into the store at the exact same moment.

"The toy store," they answer in unison.

"You're still working there?" Ally asks. She moves her game piece to the next blue square.

Trish laughs. "Do you know how much fun it is to annoy my co-workers by pressing all of those 'try me' buttons all day?"

She may have grown immune, having a younger brother, but her co-workers have not.

"Then what was Dez doing there?" Austin inquires. He picks up a card and frowns at it.

Dez and Trish's eyes connect for a moment before dashing apart.

"Uh, I'm working on a new film. It's called Attack of the Toys." He scans his hand in front of him, as if laying out the title.

Ally hesitates to believe him. Something is up.

If there is something going on between the two of them, then maybe she and Austin can go public about their relationship without fear of making them third wheels.

But for now, she's not going to speculate. She has her own relationship to worry about.

_(the page breaks here)_

Trish goes back to work. Dez stays behind to play Candyland, with the provision that he gets to be Snow White. They don't ask why. They just hand him the game piece and let him go first.

His phone buzzes as he's about to win. He checks it.

"Yes!" he exclaims.

"What?" Austin advances his piece.

"Nothing." He picks a card and moves his piece to the finish. "I won! I gotta go now. I need to go, uh- do something."

He leaves the Sonic Boom, not giving them time to ask any questions.

Austin clears the board, placing the pieces back in the box.

"You don't want to play another round?" They're stuck here until her dad comes to relieve her.

"Trish is at work. And Dez is doing, whatever Dez is doing." He glances down at her lips. She catches the hint.

"So you don't find their behavior suspicious at all?"

"I do. But there are other things I'd rather do than think about what they're up to."

She finds it easy to agree with him.

_(the page breaks here)_

Mr. Dawson lets them go on lunch. He grabs her hand.

They pass We B Toys on their way to Mini's. Trish is on a stool behind the counter.

It's not a shock that she's not working. What is a shock is that she's not goofing around either. There's no teen magazine, or 'try me' buttons. Just her, leaning across the counter to talk to Dez.

Dez, who is not an employee, or a customer, judging by the blank counter space between them. And his camera is nowhere to be found.

She can't hear their conversation. Neither can Austin, who follows her line of vision to see them engrossed in a civil conversation.

There's a look on her face that seems familiar to her, but she can't seem to place it. They can't see Dez's face from where they are now hiding. He turns around, and they duck farther behind the tree.

Austin thinks on his feet and kisses Ally. "What are you doing?"

"Would you rather get caught spying or kissing your boyfriend?" He looks over to the store. He's turned back around.

"You really want to tell them, don't you?"

"I'd shout it from the rooftops." He tugs her closer to his side. "But I'm willing to wait until you are ready."

That, and until he's sure he's stable enough to stand on the roof without falling off. That could be dangerously painful.

"By the looks of things, that may be sooner than we think."

They watch as Dez awkwardly hugs Trish over the counter.

Something is definitely up.

_(the page breaks here)_

He has to leave early for a dentist appointment. She hugs him goodbye as he promises to come back when he's done.

Once he's gone, she looks for her book. She can't find it. Her mind flashes back to last night.

Right. It's sitting at home, on her bedside table.

All she can find is the red notebook. It holds all of the notes that her father has left for her about the store, and all of her notes back. She has to flip through many pages to find a clean one.

_Like peppermint swirls on a candy cane_

_You're so refreshing, it's insane_

_I have always wondered how_

_And even with the answers I have now_

_I can't explain_

It needs a melody, but a customer approaches her. It'll have to wait.

Verse One: complete.


	2. Chapter 2

**She Wrote it on a Red Notebook (Part 2/5), an Austin & Ally fiction**

**I do not own Austin & Ally. Reviews and requests are always welcome!**

Austin returns from the dentist with red gums and news.

"Dez and Trish aren't at the toy store anymore. Not that I could see anyway." He checks his teeth in the reflection of his phone. They're freshly flossed and polished. His tongue can't resist running over them.

"Maybe they were in the storage room, getting props for his video." She pushes his phone down and pecks him on the lips.

Mmm, minty.

"I thought you said that they were up to something suspicious."

"I did. I'm just saying there must be a logical explanation. There's no way they'd ever get together. It would be weird."

"You said the same thing about us." He smiles as he remembers that day, ages ago. Back when he had to hide his feelings. From her, that is.

She scoffs. "So did you."

He pulls her flush against him. He doesn't check to see if anyone is coming. As far as he knows, there's that guy that always looks at the guitars and some group of teenagers picking apart the CD display. They'll have to reorganize it later.

In the mean time, he's wooing his lady.

"I was wrong." He entangles his fingers with her. "Because nothing has ever felt more right."

They hear footsteps and separate.

Well, her dad did have to find out eventually.

_(the page breaks here)_

Trish shows up sans uniform about two hours before the store is going to close.

"You don't work at We B Toys anymore?" Ally asks, setting a CD in its proper place.

"Apparently annoying your customers and co-workers is frowned upon." She rolls her eyes.

"Is Dez still going to make his Attack of the Toys movie then?" Austin asks.

She raises an eyebrow. "Huh? Oh right, that. I don't know."

He adjusts his grip on the CDs in his hands so she can take another. With their backs turned, they exchange curious looks.

"When we're done with this, we're going to go grab a bite to eat. Want to join us?" Ally glances over her shoulder.

"I really have to get going. Maybe tomorrow." Trish shrugs noncommittally.

She leaves, heading in the opposite direction of the parking lot.

Never say never.

_(the page breaks here)_

In the parking lot, they hug each other goodbye.

"Mike."

"Lester."

Their stern faces fade as they watch Austin give her a peck on the cheek. They both know what true love looks like.

"Son, why don't you invite Ally over? We were thinking about having a family movie night."

The idea of watching a movie with his parents doesn't sound all too fun. But if she's going to be there, he thinks he can make it through. Besides, when's the last time he spent time with his parents? He's spent most of his summer at the mall and touring.

"Do you want to?" he asks her.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," she replies. Her hand still hasn't left his.

"Nonsense. You and your dad are more than welcome to join us. It'll be Moon Dawson family night." He claps her father on the back.

She nods in agreement and gets into the front seat of her dad's car. Austin gets in his.

They can't read lips. Their dads are talking about something, but he's more occupied with making faces at her through the window. She laughs.

"Are you sure about this?" Lester asks. While their kids get along, things are still a bit testy with the adult sides of the families. They're not even sure if they remember over what anymore. But grudges can be so hard to drop.

"We might as well get used to the idea. I think they're in it for the long term."

"Alright. I'll follow you then." He rounds the car to get in the driver's seat. He sees that his daughter is laughing, and has no idea why. Looking over to the Moon's vehicle, where Mr. Moon is getting in, he thinks he has a good enough idea.

She puts her seat buckle on.

"Thanks dad."

"No problem sweetie."

_(the page breaks here)_

On the way over, she texts Trish.

By the time she gets to his house, there is still no answer. Which is weird, because Trish always answers. Even if she's supposed to be doing something.

"Hey. Hear anything from Dez or Trish?" she asks when he arrives at her car door.

"No. But I noticed none of the lights were on when we passed his house. Normally he lights up the whole neighborhood." He shuts the door for her.

Her brow furrows. "It seems like all evidence is pointing to them being together."

"Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Maybe they're working together to get us together. I mean, Dez already knew that I love you. Did you ever say anything to Trish about me?" He blushes at the thought of her trying to woo him. He hadn't really thought about it like that.

She steps inside the house. "There was that one time. We were having a sleepover, and she suggested playing truth or dare. Except I don't ever pick dare, so it was more like truth or truth."

They cram themselves into the armchair.

"What'd you say?"

"She asked me if I thought that you were cute and I said yes. And then she asked if I liked you, like that, and I told her one question per turn. Which basically confirmed that I did, because otherwise I would have just said no." She slides her shoes off and curls her feet underneath her.

Her knees fall into his lap. He uses his feet to kick his shoes off, pushing them aside so they don't trip.

"Did she ever ask you again after that?" He slides his arm around her waist.

Mr. Moon closes the DVD player. Their conversation is about to be cut off, so she rushes to give him an answer.

"No. But I think she's read my book, and there may have been a time or two that I mentioned it."

No wonder she wouldn't let him touch the book.

_(the page breaks here)_

When she unravels herself, her bones crack in response. It's disruptive, and the adults look up from the bonus features.

"Sorry. I need to use the bathroom." She exits the room.

"You two are absolutely adorable," his mother gushes. All those nerves, for nothing. How her son could have thought he would fail, she has no idea.

"Mom!"

They chuckle at him. "You can't deny the truth."

Ally returns, and he makes room for her to curl up again. She rests her ear against his chest.

She can hear his heart beat. Pump pump pump. It's steady like a drum beat.

She smiles up at him. Pump pu-pump pump.

If he could hear her heart, she doubts it'd be different.

_(the page breaks here)_

Words race through her head on the ride home. Words that she can't write down because she's forgotten the red notebook at home. She repeats the words to herself.

In the morning, she's glad that the words are still there. The first thing she does when she gets into work is write them down.

_Do I believe in love that they call true_

_Maybe I could find it with you_

_I feel 'neath my fingertips_

_Your heart, its beats, and the notes it does skip_

_My heart does too_

She tears the page out of the book and sticks it in her pocket.

Verse Two: Complete.


	3. Chapter 3

**She Wrote it on a Red Notebook (Part 3/5), an Austin & Ally fiction**

**I do not own Austin & Ally. Reviews and requests are welcome. Also, I had a thought. Rather than grace you with my mediocre musical abilities, would anyone like to record either this song, or the song from Napkin? Let me know. **

Good morning beautiful.

The words pop out of his mouth without warning. It doesn't sink in right away, and when it does, his head swings wildly side to side to see if anyone has heard him.

Anyone besides Ally, who is blushing. He doesn't see them yet. It's okay to relax.

"Today's the day," he says, stepping towards her.

"The day for what?" The voice makes him jump. How long have they been here?

"The day I'm going to beat Ally in Candyland. She always wins." He takes the box out from under the counter. His hand hits the red notebook, and Ally is relieved that she's taken her lyrics out of it.

They set the box lid aside.

"Mind some more competition?" Trish takes Princess Aurora out of the box.

Ally shakes her head. "Not at all."

Just because she's in a new relationship, doesn't mean she's going to ignore her friends. She's not that kind of girl.

That, and as far as the others know, they aren't in a relationship. Unless you count friendship.

About an hour into playing, Austin accidentally knocks her piece off the game board. He bends down to pick it up. It was his fault.

"Ow," she says as they conk heads. It may have been his fault, but it was her piece.

"Here." He rubs his head with his hand. The other hand is closing around hers, placing Belle in her hand.

He could have placed it back on the game board. That would have made the most sense. He wouldn't have stuck himself in this situation.

This situation being his hand, on top of hers, not letting go. In front of their friends. The friends that aren't supposed to know anything is going on.

"I think I have it," Ally says. He's glad at least one of their brains is working.

She sets her piece back on the board.

"That was not you spot." He takes the game piece and advances it to the next yellow, past his piece. "That was your spot."

"You just put her ahead of your piece," Trish says, reaching into Dez's backpack. She's hungry, and with any luck, he'll still have some Girl Scout Cookies leftover.

He doesn't stop her.

Ally exchanges a look with Austin. One that says 'when did they become close enough to go through each others' personal belongings?'

"She was ahead of my piece. I'm not going to win by cheating."

She comes up empty-handed.

"You ate all the cookies?"

"You ate all of my Thin Mints yesterday when we were- eating cookies." It seems like a last-minute switch from what he wanted to say.

Austin and Ally exchange another look. This one says 'I wasn't the only one to catch that, right?'

It's still early; too early for lunch. But she skipped breakfast. She had to get to the mall early to attend to things with Dez.

Things that shall remain vague, because Austin and Ally can't find out.

"I'm going to go get some food." She places her piece back in the box.

Dez places his next to it. "Yeah, I'm hungry too. Didn't have time for breakfast."

They leave. When they reach a point where she's certain that it's out of Austin and Ally's earshot, she turns to him.

"Call me paranoid, but do you think they know?"

"Well Paranoid Butt, would that be such a bad thing?"

And since they can't see Austin and Ally, that means that they can't be seen either. So back at the Sonic Boom, he takes her hand again.

This time there's no awkward game piece in between or friends watching.

It's just them.

_(the page breaks here)_

During a late lunch, Trish asks Ally a question.

"So, are you working on a new song?" She stabs her chicken pot pie with her fork.

She doesn't want to lie. But she hasn't told Austin that she's writing him a response song. Which she could explain to Trish, in private, but then she'd have to explain what she was responding to. Which would mean telling her that they are dating. Which would lead to third wheel syndrome.

Still, it is wrong to lie.

"I've just written down a couple of lines. Nothing major." She tries to pass it off like it's no big thing.

It's a huge thing.

Trish waves her fork towards Austin. "Weren't you trying to write a song?"

He doesn't remember telling her about that. Dez must have spilled the news.

Right now, he'd like to 'spill' his drink all over his face.

That was private information, and her knowing of it had caused him to send Lemon Twist up his nose.

Trust him, the sensation is not a good one.

"I think it's best if we leave the song writing up to Ally. She's the best in the biz." His comment makes her smile.

She doesn't need to know that not only is his song done, but he's already successfully serenaded her with it. As far as Dez knows, he chickened out of singing to her. Or he did, but she turned him down.

Not that he's asked.

"I thought you told me-" His foot collides with Dez's shin.

Not that he'll let him either.

_(the page breaks here)_

Dez stops in front of the toy store. "I'm going to work on my movie now."

Austin is confused. He had thought it was just a cover up.

Unless they are covering up a cover up. That way it looks like they aren't doing something when they really are.

The whole thing boggles his mind.

"Trish, where are you going?" Ally asks when she sees her following him into the store.

"After the success of Claws, I've been cast as 'girl attacked by toys.' It's the main role." She grins with satisfaction.

"So what, a legion of teddy bears are going to attack you?" She thinks back to being in the toy store. She really hopes he's not going to throw building blocks at her.

Dez shakes his head. "Not just teddy bears. Action figures, jump ropes, dodgeballs."

"You said nothing about dodgeballs," Trish protests. They begin to argue. Austin and Ally take it as their cue to leave.

They walk into the Sonic Boom. Her dad immediately spots them and smiles hello. He's dusting off the violin display.

When his back is turned, Austin gives her a quick kiss. It's not like they have to hide from him.

But hey, a guy likes his privacy.

What he doesn't notice is someone who is a complete stranger to him, yet knows him completely is jumping for joy behind the guitar display.

The stranger wants to go over and shake his hand. Introduce himself and say, 'Hi, I'm your biggest fan. Congratulations on finally seeing the light.' But he knows his place, and that is not it.

He looks at the guitars he's untuned. That's not his place either.

So he leaves the store to let them have their moment.

_(the page breaks here)_

They decide that Austin should go check out the movie. She can't go with him, as her dad is on break. But business is slow, and she'd hate for them both to be stuck here.

She watches him go and pulls the notepaper out of her pocket.

_Please excuse the sweat dripping down my palm_

_I'm by your side, I should stay calm_

_You're the one I can't resist_

_Stomach butterflies making pretzel twists_

_My only qualm_

He comes back in with a status report. The butterflies act up, but by now she's figured out what they mean.

It means she's in love.

Verse 3: complete.


	4. Chapter 4

**She Wrote it on a Red Notebook (Part 4/5), an Austin & Ally fiction**

**I do not own Austin & Ally. There is one more chapter, and then possibility for epilogue. Still asking for: 1. anyone who wants to record the songs 2. reviews 3. requests. **

Consequences are not fair when you haven't done anything wrong.

Sure, you can say right versus wrong is a matter of opinion. Like how one might say to wait to do laundry to save water and detergent (or quarters, if the Laundromat is more your style.) But then another may say that you shouldn't because then you will run out of things to wear. It's a matter of opinion who is right.

Though if you're missing your favorite white jacket because you haven't bothered to do wash lately, be prepared for them to say I told you so.

However, Ally has done the wash and that white jacket is draped across the back of the practice room chair. It's far too hot out to be wearing layers.

In fact, it's so hot that her that her mouth is running dry.

Her stomach makes a noise. With all of that questioning at the diner, she had barely touched her salad. Now she's paying for it with disruptive stomach gurglings.

A customer eyes her curiously. She politely smiles at him, ducking behind the counter to look for food.

She finds an apple. It's a Braeburn, which is promising. That means it'll be crisp and juicy, just how she likes it. She polishes it off with her shirt.

Here come the consequences.

The apple is so juicy it dribbles down her chin. And for some reason that she does not know, the napkin she left with the apple last week has mysteriously vanished.

She wipes her chin with her hand. It isn't all too graceful, but neither were those noises coming from her stomach.

The next bite has worse consequences than the first.

A piece of apple gets lodged between her front two teeth. She has no dental floss, and no matter how hard her tongue pokes, it does not want to come out.

It'd be easy to push it out with her nail, if it wasn't for the fact that she had recently clipped them.

Maybe if she takes another bite, it'll force it out.

Yeah, that didn't work.

The only way this could be worse is if Austin was here to see this. Not that he would break up with her over something stuck in her teeth. It's just she'd rather he think the very best of her, and food scraps between her teeth are not the very best.

They aren't even close.

_(the page breaks here)_

At We B Toys, Trish has Dez pinned up against a shelf.

Austin thinks he may have walked in at the wrong time. Their faces are close, but he doesn't think he interrupted anything. Anything meaning 'a romantic interlude from filming between two of his best friends.' Because obviously he has interrupted something.

They notice his arrival.

"What's going on?" he asks hesitantly. He's curious, but he can see the fire in her eyes, and he's not going to be the one to push her buttons any farther.

"Dez and I agreed that the toys would attack below the face. And then he hit me in the face." She throws her arms up, taking a step back.

"I told you, my hand slipped."

"While you were aiming at my face?"

"I was not aiming at your face."

"Then maybe you should work on your aim!" With each rebuttal, their volume increases. Between the toys flinging and noise, he wonders how they've managed not to be thrown out yet.

He puts himself between the two of them. "Guys, calm down. If you get kicked out, you won't be able to finish your movie."

Her arms slowly drop to her side. He traps a rolling ball beneath his foot.

Austin looks at both of them. He wants to be sure they aren't going to attack if he removes himself. They seem nonvolatile enough. He takes a step back, nearly tripping on a teddy bear.

"How did you get them to agree to this anyway?" He picks the bear up, setting it on the shelf.

"I promised them all cameos in my movie." Dez grins. "Trish promised not to press any more 'try me' buttons."

She fluffs her hair. There's a slight scratch on her forehead from the building block. Or he assumes it's a building block, because there is one at her feet.

That, and he doubts she'd complain if that teddy bear hit her head. Teddy bears can't cut.

Just to be safe, he's not going to let Major Ursa into bed tonight.

He is an army teddy bear after all. Who knows what kind of weapons he has on him.

_(the page breaks here)_

She's finished her apple. The core is in the garbage.

The store is completely empty now, so she takes the stem she's saved and tries to use it as a toothpick. Surprisingly, it works.

Austin returns from his second visit to the movie set. While the first time he had been merely an observer with few details, this time he has plenty to share. He tells her about finding Dez pinned against the shelf. About how he had thrown something at her face.

He asks her if she'll come back with him, because things seem like utter chaos over there, and they could use her help.

Mr. Dawson walks in at that moment. "Why are your friends in a toy fight next door?"

She tosses her stem in the trash.

"See, I told you things were getting out of hand," Austin says.

"I'll be back." They go to the toy store.

He hears a laugh. It sounds like Trish, but she's supposed to be being attacked by toys. Toys that are flying past Dez's head. Austin catches the ball.

"Whoa, what's going on?" he asks.

Dez stops filming. "She's fighting the toys back. Duh."

"You almost hit Ally in the face with a dodgeball." He wraps an arm around her. He's being a protective boyfriend.

Er, best friend.

Boyfriend pretending to be best friend?

Let's go with that.

"Sorry," Trish apologizes. "I was aiming for him."

"Now who has bad aim?"

"You jerked!"

"Look, it doesn't matter why I almost got hit in the face." Ally takes the ball from him. "What matters is that you two have to sort all of this out."

Her hand waves around in the air to encompass the two of them. She hands Dez the ball.

"What do you mean 'all of this,'" Trish asks, copying her motions.

Austin answers for her. "This. You and Dez, and whatever the two of you are up to."

"Who said we were up to anything?" He also mimics the motion. They raise their eyebrows. "I'm sorry; I don't really understand why we're doing this."

He makes the motion again.

Trish rolls her eyes at him. "If anybody here should be examining their relationship, I think it should be you two!"

"What? Why us?" Ally asks nervously.

"Oh, you know why." Trish may be pushy, but she's not going to spoil her secret. It's Ally's job to tell Austin how she feels.

If only she knew.

_(the page breaks here)_

Minutes later, they're up in the practice room, examining their relationship.

They have no clue if Trish and Dez are doing the same. But if they're examining it the way they are, then they better not go find out. That could lead to some awkward conversation.

Most likely beginning with the phrase 'Sorry, we didn't mean to interrupt.'

Followed by 'Aww, you two are so cute together!'

To which Austin would drag her away, saying 'Let's let them have their privacy.'

If they aren't, and they're secretly doing whatever it is they are doing, he imagines the conversation would go more like what follows.

'There you two are. We've been waiting for you.'

'What's going on?'

'We're having an intervention. I call it Get-Auslly-Together-or-Regret. Gator for short.'

She pulls away from him.

"What do you think they're up to right now?" A loose hair gets pushed out of her face.

"I don't know. They haven't come looking for us yet." If they were in some kind of argument, one of them would have definitely stormed away by now. His mind flashes back to the scene in the toy store.

Then again, maybe they should check on them.

"They haven't called either."

"I'll talk to Dez about it later when my dad comes to pick us up."

"Alright. I'll ask Trish if she wants to have a girls night tonight." She almost adds that she'll talk to him about it in the morning, but she has one more day before school starts, and she needs all the time she can get to work on her song if she wants to perform it for him tomorrow afternoon.

He rubs his stomach. "Okay. I'm going to go get something to eat. Wanna come?"

"No thanks. I had a snack earlier." She thinks of the apple and runs her tongue across her teeth.

He hugs her, promising he'll back.

She closes the door behind him, unfolding the paper in her pocket.

_In the end the colors fade_

_The credits roll, but we remain_

_In love_

_Happily ever after for two_

_That would be me and you_

The chorus: complete


	5. Chapter 5

**She Wrote it on a Red Notebook (Part 5/5), an Austin and Ally fiction**

**I do not own Austin and Ally. Reviews are golden. I am currently accepting requests, though with school, postings will probably be less frequent. Epilogue?**

He stands in the almost empty parking lot with Dez as they wait for his dad to show up. He's late, so they decide to play a game. It's the kind where you can only step on the yellow lines and can't touch the blacktop. The first one to step off the line loses.

This of course means that there is a lot of pushing and distracting to get the other to step off first.

"So how'd it go with Trish? Did you sort everything out?" Austin tilts to the side to avoid getting hit.

"You could say that," Dez swings his arm back. "What about you and Ally? Did you two sort everything out?"

He flails. "You could say that."

It appears he is much better at being distracted than being distracting. It's time to formulate a new game plan.

He steps forward. They are eye to eye, and his foot sweeps around to hook around Dez's ankles. Unfortunately he is too fast for him.

"Did you tell Trish you love her?" If he couldn't beat him physically, he could do it mentally.

It works, and he falls off the line, into the blacktop.

"What- why would you say that?"

He wants to admit that it is because he wants to know. He's curious to see if this love-hate relationship is more love than hate.

He can't muster the courage. "To get you to lose the game."

Though he can't see why he would have been so bothered by it if nothing had happened. Which means something did happen. Something that he isn't admitting, despite their promise to tell each other everything.

Right. Because he had told him about dating Ally.

"Best two of three?" He accepts the challenge.

It's a good thing that his dad shows up, because he knows that Dez wants his revenge. Revenge that would most likely be sought after by asking the same question back. Well, after switching Trish's name for Ally's.

He would have definitely lost then.

(_the page breaks here)_

Ally stands in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing her teeth. Trish stands beside her.

"How was your talk with Dez?" she spits into the sink.

"It was- fine." She scrubs at her gums until they turn red. It's not a matter of teeth cleanliness. There's more to it than that; not that she'll ever tell.

"What'd you guys talk about?" She rinses her toothbrush and sticks it back in its holder.

Trish washes her spit down the drain.

"Stuff," she answers vaguely. "What did you and Austin talk about?"

Ally slides the mouthwash bottle across the counter. "Things."

Their eyes meet in the mirror. Stuff? Things? When had they become so secretive with each other?

It feels so wrong not wanting to even tell her. Best friends are supposed to share everything. Clothes, pens, and secrets.

"Remember when we used to tell each other everything?" She asks. Trish nods, cheeks puffed out.

Neither of them bother to fix it. Some things need to stay broken.

(_the page breaks here)_

Austin sits up in bed. Dougie the dolphin is sitting next to him.

"I should call her, huh?" he asks the dolphin.

No answer.

"I mean, best friends can call each other at," he checks the clock, "ten at night. Right?"

Dougie stares back at him, his beady eyes unblinking.

"Am I really asking a stuffed dolphin for love advice?"

He looks down to see him still staring back at him. It almost makes him feel guilty.

"Sorry Dougie."

_(the page breaks here)_

Trish awakens to the smell of eggs and french toast. She opens her eyes.

No wonder she had smelled it. They were right in front of her face.

Ally set her fork down on her plate. "Oh good, you're up."

Trish yawns.

"Not that I don't appreciate the bed and breakfast, but why so early? I could still be sleeping." She pokes her eggs with her fork.

"I need to get to the mall early this morning to talk to Austin."

"Ooh," Trish teases. She cuts into her toast with the side of her fork.

Ally blushes. She wipes her mouth in an effort to hide behind the napkin.

"Does this happen to do with the 'things' you two talked about yesterday?"

"A little bit." It was more about what they hadn't said. It was that kiss, and all the words that preceded it.

All those words that formulated what she considered to be the sweetest love song he'd ever written. (Ignoring the fact that it was the only song, love or otherwise he had really written.)

A drop of syrup falls onto her pajamas.

She dabs it with her napkin, shaking her head as Trish asks "Are you going to ask Austin out?"

"I should take care of this before it stains." She grabs another shirt. Trish takes her plate and follows her.

"I think you two would make a cute couple." Ally turns on the cold water.

She smiles, switching shirts. She runs the water over the stain, rummaging through the cupboard for the detergent.

"Wouldn't that be awkward for you and Dez?"

"At this point, I think the two of us are gunning for you two to get together." She licks the syrups off her fork. "In fact, we were thinking about locking the two of you in the supply closet and not letting you out until you sorted everything out."

"So that's what 'stuff' entails. Shoving your best friends into a room that smells like dirty mop water to get them to confess their feelings."

Trish holds back a grin. She's used to Ally denying that Austin likes her back. But she had said 'their' feelings. That implied that she was finally seeing the light.

And no, she did not mean the light over the sink.

"Mostly." She was supposed to lie. She was supposed to tell her that was what their entire discussion was about.

There was no way it was about how she maybe had the tiniest inkling of non-hate feelings towards him.

There was no way he hesitated to kiss her.

There was no way that it wasn't as awkward as she planned it to be, forcing her to fake a face of disgust. They had both made faces. They had agreed that it never happened, and never would happen again.

Why is she smiling as she recalls the memory?

"Trish are you okay? You've been smiling at your plate. Here, let me take that for you." She takes the plate and goes back to her bedroom.

Her eggs are finished, but the other half of her toast remains. She holds it out to her. Rejected, she takes both dishes to the kitchen.

"I'm going to go get changed." She needs time to think. Time to sort out all these feelings she had already allocated to a box in her head that read 'never going to happen.'

There was still room in the 'maybe' box.

_(the page breaks here)_

At the mall, Ally finds that Austin and Dez are already waiting by the Sonic Boom. Mr. Dawson unlocks the doors.

"You boys are here early," he says, pushing the door open.

"Ally said she wanted to talk."

"He's my ride." Dez glances to Trish. He's not sure what they've become. They've been hanging out more lately, and there was that kiss. But she had written it off as nothing. And as much as he loved to push her buttons, he didn't know if he loved her.

There was one way to find out. Not that she'd ever agree. That was made clear yesterday.

"Let's go up to the practice room." Ally starts up the stairs.

Dez holds Austin back for a moment. "Good luck buddy."

Hopefully that talk they had while waiting wouldn't go to waste. It was pep talk, part two. Or part i i as he liked to call it. The name wasn't important. What was important that this time he actually get the girl and not chicken out when she asked about the song.

The things he didn't know.

Seems like everyone is keeping secrets nowadays.

_(the page breaks here)_

She was going to wait until this afternoon to sing him the song. They were going to meet and talk about Trish and Dez. But after that talk this morning, she's too antsy. It has to be now.

Her energy is channeled into the piano keys. She sings him every verse, every chorus. Then there's the part she just wrote last night. She's shaky, not having much practice with it.

_Take me, to the edge_

_But don't let me fall_

_If it is not love_

_I want nothing at all_

At the end, she looks up from the keys. His face is right there.

"I'm ready to tell them about us."

The bridge: complete.

The song: complete.

The response to his song: complete.

Telling the rest of the world?

As soon as possible.

That is, right after he kisses her.


	6. End

**She Wrote it on a Red Notebook (Epilogue), an Austin and Ally fiction**

**I do not own Austin and Ally. This is the final installment, so please enjoy and review. **

When he said that they would tell them about being together after he kisses her, he did not mean directly after. Especially not two seconds after, when he can still feel her breath on his face, the faint taste of maple syrup lingering in his mouth.

"Aww," Dez and Trish chorus from the doorway.

Next time he's getting a 'do not disturb' sign. One with big block letters that scream 'listen to me.'

Well, technically it'd be screaming 'do not disturb,' but right now he's too busy worrying about what will happen next to be logical.

"Were you guys spying on us?" Austin asks.

"The door was ajar," Trish says, as if this was some sort of invitation to come in.

Ally's eyes trail down to where Dez and Trish's hands are connected. They jerk apart.

"You wanted to tell us something?" He stretches his hand out to them. Anything not to look guilty.

She rubs her thumb along the back of his hand. She'll be the one to handle this. And as excited as she is, there is still that bit of fear lingering.

It's that bit of fear that makes her stumble over her words.

"I uh- we're dating." She sighs. It feels nice to say the words out loud. She wants to repeat them over and over until they don't make sense anymore.

The smile she breaks into stops her.

Trish thinks back to the conversation they had this morning. Pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place.

"How long as this been going on?"

"Just a few days," she says casually. Inside her heart is doing flips. She can't do a cartwheel in all of her joy, but her heart doesn't seem to have the same inhibitions. To think, last week she was fantasizing about what it'd be like to get together, and now she's dating him.

My, how time flies when you're in love.

Normally when someone gets an idea in a cartoon, a light bulb goes off over their head.

When Dez catches on, the light bulb burns out. The room gets darker. The early morning sunshine is pouring in, just bright enough to let them see each others' faces.

"Why didn't you tell us? Dude, I thought you chickened out."

"We didn't want you two to feel like third wheels," Ally explains. She glances back to their hands that are lingering next to each other. As if she can mentally will it, she stares. 'Move right,' she tells Trish's hand. 'Go left,' she tells Dez's hands.

Neither of the hands listen to her telepathic messages.

"Can you have two third wheels?" Dez takes a step forward. The hands move farther apart.

Austin shrugs.

His hand moves into his pocket, and Ally loses any hope of it intertwining with Trish's.

_(the page breaks here)_

After lunch, where Austin and Ally got to snuggle on one side of the booth while Dez's hand awkwardly stalked Trish's, he makes an announcement.

"I finished editing Attack of the Toys last night." He holds up the DVD he's burned it to.

"Let's put it in!" Austin takes the disc to place in the player. The chairs are stacked so that the boys are sitting behind the girls. He takes the chair behind Ally.

Leaning forward, he wraps his arms around her neck. She takes one of his hands and plays with the fingers.

He is so glad she agreed to tell them.

Judging by the smile on her face, he isn't the only one.

Dez has the remote. This keeps him from doing the same to Trish. Not that she'd let him if he had the opportunity.

Her name flashes in huge letters. Then there she is, being attacked by the toys. There's the shots of her fighting back. In the background he's put music. It sounds like warrior music.

Considering she filmed this in a store that played bubble gum pop over the loudspeaker, she thinks she acted rather well.

The employee cameos, which consisted of them bowing down to her for saving them from the evil toy, not so much. They could have done a better job of worshiping her. Though the one did kiss her shoe.

At the thought, her mind jumps to a different kiss.

Her friends break into applause. At this point, she should be getting up to bow or curtsy or wave like the queen or something that isn't thinking about what happened yesterday after wrapping up.

But his arm is over her shoulder. It was only there because he couldn't get the remote signal to the DVD player from his seat.

That didn't explain why it was still there, long after he had pushed the stop button.

She plucks his arm off of her and stands. "Thank you, thank you."

He stands. Rummaging around in his backpack, he finds the other copy. He has to take it over to the toy store. They want to use scenes for their new commercial.

He'd rather make them a commercial, giant props and all, but if it's what they want, he's not going to argue. All his extra energy is going to trying to forget about that kiss.

Now he knows why he hesitated. It wasn't because he didn't want to do it. It's because he did, but didn't know how she'd react.

If only he didn't have to fake that face of disgust.

_(the page breaks here)_

Three hours later, he finds himself trapped in a closet. Backing up, he hears a yelp.

Looks like he isn't the only one trapped in the closet.

"Trish? Is that you?"

"Why'd you let the door close? I've been trying to get out for ten minutes now!" She shoves him into a mop in a bucket.

Water splashes onto his foot. "Why are we in here?"

This time, it's not her that answers.

"Since you two obviously didn't sort everything out yesterday, we're locking you in there until you do," Austin says.

"You can't stay out there forever." Trish bangs on the door.

"We brought Candyland."

She groans. They could sit there for hours. And if they do get bored, they're dating. She's sure Candyland isn't the only way they can entertain each other.

Her back hits the door and she slides to the ground. Might as well get comfortable.

At first, they just sit there, foot to foot. In the dark, she can see only his eyes. There is probably a light switch in here somewhere. "Help me find the light."

"Okay," he says standing up. They run their hands across the wall.

His hand runs over hers by mistake.

The hunt for the switch gets put on pause. Right now, she'd prefer to find the switch to turn off the thud thudding of her heart. A few mixed emotions and a kiss, and now she can't control her own heart. It's too much to hide. She wonders how Ally could have hid it.

"I lied."

"You don't want to find the light switch?"

She takes a firmer hold of his hand. "I mean about the kiss."

Ally, who is advancing her game piece to the next green square outside of the closet, gasps. She mouths the words 'they kissed' to Austin. He leans across the board, careful not to knock over the pieces. Then he kisses her.

'So did we,' he mouths back. He takes her hand, pulling her towards him. He tilts his head backward.

She realizes he thinks they should give them some privacy. The game gets quietly placed back in the box. He moves the chair from being jammed under the knob.

Tiptoeing away, they let the conversation continue without them.

"So you're saying that you faked looking disgusted?" Dez asks after she's explained herself.

"That's what I'm saying." She takes a deep breath to calm down.

Ally was right. It does smell like dirty mop water in here. Why had she given her the idea?

On the first try, he misses. It's dark, and his lips hit a roll of toilet paper.

He gets it right on the second try.

"I think I might like you." He rubs the back of his neck, elbow striking with the wall.

Surprising herself, she lets the words come out of her mouth.

"I think I might like you too." She sets her hand on the doorknob. "Though it would be nice to get out of here."

Her hand slips and the door swings open. Austin and Ally are nowhere to be seen.

They share a look of confusion. Weren't they trapped, with no hope of escape?

Stepping out, Trish notices that the light bulb is operated by a pull cord.

There was never a light switch to be found.

_(the page breaks here)_

That evening, the four of them are out in the parking lot. They're playing the line game again.

"Can you believe that school starts tomorrow?" Austin says, grabbing his girlfriend around the waist.

"And this year, both of us will be starting with boyfriends." Trish wobbles, almost falling into the black.

This statement distracts Ally, and she steps off the line. "You two are dating?"

With that, she squirms out of his hold, knocking him off the line. She hugs Trish, forcing her into the black as well.

"I win!" Dez pumps his fist into the air.

She rolls her eyes. "Remind me again what I see in him?"

"A future?"

At least, that's what she sees with Austin.

You never know if things are going to last. They could split tomorrow or in five weeks or five years. They could be together forever, happily or not.

But if you never try, you'll never know.

His arms wrap themselves back around her waist.

It only takes a leap of faith.


End file.
